In older adults, beet juice can really increase blood flow to the brain, a new study has shown.

Battling the progression of dementia can be easy if this finding comes true.

Daniel Kim-Shapiro, director of Wake Forest University's Translational Science Center; Fostering Independence in Aging said, "There have been several very high-profile studies showing that drinking beet juice can lower blood pressure, but we wanted to show that drinking beet juice also increases perfusion, or blood flow, to the brain."

Leafy vegetables like lettuce, spinach, beets, cabbage, and celery have high concentrations of nitrates. Good bacteria in the mouth turn nitrate when you eat high-nitrate foods. Blood vessels in the body according to research get opened up by nitrites and this increases blood flow and oxygen specifically to places that are lacking oxygen.

This study was the first of its kind that made an attempt at establishing a link between consumption of nitrate-rich beet juice and increased blood flow to the brain.

For doing so over a period of four days, Translational Science Center researchers looked at how dietary nitrates affected 14 adults age 70 and older.

It was concluded by the MRIs that blood flow in older adults increased after eating a high-nitrate diet.